


Secrets

by through_shadows_falling



Series: Supernatural Ficlets [60]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Funny, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Sam Winchester, Secrets, Team Free Will, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 12:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6704866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/through_shadows_falling/pseuds/through_shadows_falling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I know now is perhaps not the best time,” Castiel spoke up suddenly. Sam could just barely make out his face in the gloom. “But I have something I want to say."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets

This was it. The end of Team Free Will.  

The trap they’d fallen into was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and seeing as two thirds of the group were seasoned hunters and one third was a former heavenly being, they should’ve seen it coming.

But luck wasn’t on their side, and they were stuck. 

Sam sighed as Dean clawed at the high dirt walls again. Soil dislodged and rained down on him, making the pit even wider, though it was still barely wide enough to accommodate three grown men. 

Dean spit dirt out of his mouth. “Seriously, who just digs a hole in the middle of the woods?”

“Actual hunters?” Sam said. “This was probably an abandoned bear trap or something.”

“It’s an ancient technique,” Castiel added from his spot on the ground, studying their situation with squinted eyes. “We should feel lucky that there weren’t spikes at the bottom.”

Dean scoffed. “So we’re not in an Indiana Jones movie. Great. We’re still _trapped_.” 

“And?” Sam asked wearily. He sagged against the wall, clutching his busted wrist to his chest. “Dude, just give it a rest. We’ll just have to hope a park ranger drives by or something.”

“You see a park ranger stand anywhere near here?”

Sam sighed again. “No. But there’s nothing else we can do. Just sit down. Save your energy.”

“For what? More acrobatics?” He indicated Sam’s wrist, which he had injured when they tried to climb on each other to reach the top of the wall. Needless to say, it hadn’t gone well. All it served to do was dislodge more dirt.

Sam leaned against the wall as he sank to the ground and drew his long legs to his chest. Castiel sat across from him, his own legs nearly reaching Sam’s. Dean finally joined them with a huff, closer to Castiel than Sam, though taking up just as much room. 

They’d packed light in terms of survival essentials, having only enough to take down the pair of Wendigos rumored to nest in the forest. They knew they might have to hike for a while, so they hadn’t wanted to be too weighed down by anything but weapons. Which was an amateur mistake, really. 

“So now what?” Dean asked, his voice quieter but still tinged with petulance. His question was met with silence. Above them, twilight gave way to night with the first twinkling of stars visible only when wind shifted the branches of trees out of the way. The sound was muted from where they sat, almost as if they were viewing the world from the other side of an oblong peephole. 

“I know now is perhaps not the best time,” Castiel spoke up suddenly. Sam could just barely make out his face in the gloom. “But I have something I want to say,” he continued.

“Hey, this isn’t an end of the world confession is it?” Dean asked with a tight, panicked laugh. 

“It is,” Castiel said, no trace of humor in his voice. He shifted to face Dean. “Dean, I just wanted to tell you that I have always, and will always, love you.”

Dean sucked in a breath and then froze. Sam’s eyes widened. Did that really just happen? He never thought he’d live to see the day.

“I know this comes at an inopportune time, but since becoming human again, I have been trying to analyze my emotions,” Castiel said. “I realized that I enjoy being around you. That the thought of being away from you saddens me. And there are certain urges that I–”

“ _Cas_ ,” Dean interrupted, choked. “You can’t just–I’m not–What’re you–”

“You don’t have to say it back,” Castiel said gently. “I just thought you should know how I feel. And Sam?”

Sam let out a tinny sound. “You’re not going to confess your love to me, too, are you?”

“Oh no, certainly not. But I do think of you as my brother and my best friend.”

A lump wedged in Sam’s throat. “Oh. Well, yeah. I feel the same.”

“Thank you, Sam.”

Silence descended except for intermittent spluttering noises from Dean’s direction. 

At long last, Dean burst out, “I have a secret, too.”

When he was quiet for a few moments, Sam prompted, “Which is…?”

“I, uh… I mean. Um. This is really…”

“Dean, we will not mock anything you have to say,” Castiel said.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “Just get it off your chest.”

Dean inhaled a few loud breaths before spilling out, “I’mbisexual.”

Sam blinked after he’d processed his brother’s words. “Oh. That’s–”

“I’m not done,” Dean interrupted. “Okay, so I’m bi and…Cas? Um. Same.”

Silence fell again, and Sam amused himself by imagining the heart eyes Dean and Castiel were throwing at each other. About time.

“Do you mean it?” Castiel asked, his voice strangely small.

“Y-yeah,” Dean said. “I mean, yeah. It’s been that way for a while.”

“Same,” Castiel said, and it was like the both of them released huge, relieved breaths. 

“We’ll have to um. Talk more when we get back to the bunker, yeah?” Dean asked.

“Yes,” Castiel said, a smile in his voice. 

Sam grinned. “I’m happy for you both, you know.”

“Yeah, so what about you, then?” Dean asked. “What’s your big secret, Sammy?”

Even though he couldn’t see them, Sam imagined Dean and Castiel staring at him through the darkness. He fidgeted.

“Don’t have one.”

“Nothing new to report about you and Eileen?” Dean asked, innuendo infusing his voice.

“No. We’re just friends.”

“But you’re learning ASL. I saw your browser history.”

Sam scowled. “Oh man, stop stealing my laptop! And yeah, so I’m learning ASL. It’s an awesome language and could help us out a lot on hunts when we have to be quiet.”

“Come on, you’ve got to have _some_  secret,” Dean insisted.

Sam squirmed and finally let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, okay? I do have one.”

“Yeah? Spill.”

“Alright already,” Sam said, annoyed at his brother’s obvious glee. “So you know how I love dogs?” There was silence. “Well, I actually discovered that I’m more of a cat person. I’ve been feeding this litter behind the bunker and–”

“Are you _kidding_  me?” Dean interrupted. “What kind of shitty secret is that? Cas and I just bared our souls and you’re talking about freaking _cats_? What the hell, man?”

“I, uh…” Sam started, but was cut off by huffs of air from Castiel’s direction. It took a second for Sam to realize he was _laughing_. 

“A wonderfully important secret, Sam,” Castiel said around his own chuckling. “We’re so glad you shared.”

“Oh shut up,” Sam said without any venom. His lips twitched, and he could hear Dean softly laughing to himself.

It devolved from there. They told jokes and silly stories until they were too tired, then fell asleep in their cramped positions.

They woke the next morning to the sound of voices, and called out to a hunting party that had been scoping out the area for another missing victim. Within a few hours, Team Free Will was rescued. 

They returned to the Impala for supplies, completed their hunt–yup, a pair of Wendigos–helped a few traumatized people to the hospital, and then were on their merry way home. 

In a way, everything was the same, but when Sam caught Dean and Castiel sharing a secret smile through the rear-view mirror, he realized he was wrong.

Everything had changed.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm looking for more drabble prompts! Hit me up at [my tumblr here](through-shadows-falling.tumblr.com).


End file.
